Milica Tošić
Partners Serbia
In the complex landscape of cybercrime in the world, the ever-evolving nature of digital threats presents a challenge to Serbian citizens as well. Bearing in mind that in Serbia, court proceedings sometimes last for decades, and that courts and prosecutors' offices are overcrowded with cases, consequently, the question arises: are state institutions adequately equipped and prepared to counteract and prevent cyber threats and to protect citizens from cybercrime?
In 2005, the Law on Organization and Jurisdiction of State Authorities for the Fight Against Cybercrime (in further text: The Law) was adopted. The Law regulates the education, organization, jurisdiction and powers of special organizational units of state bodies for the purpose of detecting and prosecuting the crimes designated as cybercrime.
The Special Department of The High Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade is responsible for handling all cybercrime cases in Serbia. According to the data provided by this Department in September 2023, a total of 5 public prosecutors are actively involved. Although the Law states that those prosecutors who possess special knowledge in the field of information technologies have priority for assignment in this department, the Higher Prosecutor's Office has not drafted an act defining how to determine and classify the knowledge of public prosecutors in this field.
Although the number of 5 public prosecutors specializing in prosecuting perpetrators of cybercrime seems small for the entire territory of Serbia, the situation with the capacities of the courts is even more worrying. The Law stipulates that a department for combating cybercrime within the Higher Court in Belgrade is established for trials in cases of cybercrime. However, according to data obtained from the High Court in September 2023 (18 years after the adoption of the Law), the Higher Court has not yet established a separate department. All the cases of cybercrimes are handled by the judges of the first instance criminal department, who also handle all other crime cases, from domestic violence to unauthorized production of narcotic drugs. Even though the Law stipulates that judges who possess special knowledge in the field of information technology will have priority for deployment to this department, the Higher Court does not have an act that determines how special knowledge is acquired and how the knowledge of judges is assessed when it comes to this area.
This situation once again shows us that the adoption of new laws, as well as the constant amendment of existing ones, is not enough in itself to improve the situation. Although in Serbia problems are often justified by poor legal solutions, this only distracts from the fact that state institutions do not apply the adopted laws.
Cybercrime often has an international character, and therefore requires international cooperation between institutions of several countries to adequately address it. In order to harmonize its system with the European system, Serbia signed the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime from 2003, as well as its two additional Protocols from 2003 and 2022. To fulfil the obligations of the Convention and the Protocols, Serbia has committed itself to make a series of changes in substantive and procedural criminal law. But to be able to participate effectively in cross-border cooperation, regulation changes are not enough. Without enough personnel, their adequate training, as well as effective mechanisms for protecting the rights of citizens, even the best written regulation remains useless.
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